The Osceola times., 1887-05-14

freshly spilled. A cold shiver passed
over me. and l felt my heart sink.
If not literally down to my boots.
then very near to them, in my imagina.
| ton.
As ! was sitting directly between the
horrible spot and my companion he did
not see it. and with feeling of deyout
thankfulness | managed, without excit-
ing his suspicious, to cover it up with a
portion of the leaves we had piled near
the hearth.
As we were dispatching the remains
OF our dinner my companion, not with
out considerable nervousness, however,
and white, scared face with lips that
scarcely pronounced the words above a
whisper, related to me in full the hor.
rible story of the drink-maddcncd man
who in moment of frenzy had mur.
dered his loving wife and innocent little
baby.
BY this time the night had fairly set.
tied down upon us, and the darkness,
save where the dim glow of the fire
rested. was impenetrable. The thick
shadows enveloped us even where we
sat, for, the fuel being poor, we had
continually TO coax our fire to burn,
and were often without even pre-.
tense of blaze.
Suddenly just as my companion
was describing to me the terrible head
long rush with which the frcnzied Hig-
gins had sprung upon his crouching
wife-there came piercing through the
thick wall of darkness behind us the
startlingly distinct sound of n heavy
body rushing through space, and the
instant after the same sound repeated,
each in turn followed by a dull thud
and then the noise of heavy, uncertain
footsteps.
With a hoarsc cry my companion
sprang suddenly upward, but fell again
to his knees. While clasping his arms
conyulsively, yet tightly, about my
body, he fixed his eyes upon me in one
long, appealing, despairing gaze.
! had just placed my hand upon his
shoulder to reassure him. and was
opening my lip. TO speak when there
came a terrific crash, followed by total
darkness, while something cold and
wet was dashed into our faces and fell
all about us. The next moment a
woman's terrible cry, mingled with a
baby's frightened scream, rang
through the cabin.
With another cry. almost as blood
curdling. my mountaineer sprang up.
and. ere ! could divine his intention.
dashed madly through the door and
into the raging storm without.
1t was truly moment of horror and
my first impulse was to follow my
wildly-neeing companion. But the
next moment realized the utter mad
ness of facing such storm in impenc-
trable darkness on PERCEPTIONS noun
tain side.
Feeling for my revolver grasped it
firmly in one hand and CROPPED my way
to the fireplace with the other.
Ii was banked with snow,
Inext felt for match in order TO
strike light, and realized with horror
that the last one in our possession had
been used 10 start tie fire. The terri
bic screams now had momen,arily in
creased, intermingled with low means
and mysterious footsteps.
Suddenly became aware that some
thing or some one was stealthily ap-
preaching the fireplace where | stood.
The next moment two burning eyes,
apparently fixed upon me, glowed
through the darkness. That it WINS
critical moment felt in every vein
and fiber. Quick as thought | raised
my revolver, took deliberate aim, and
fired.
There was sharp report, a binding
flash, human cry of agony, wo-
mans blood-curdling shrek again,
few low, pitful moanS, then all was
still for an instant or so.
The next moment there was rush
of footsteps, hoarse, maddcned cries
once more the sound of a heavy body
passing through space. Again silence,
and then the same low moans, inter-
mingled with heavy sobs of pain.
Cropping my way to the corner
of the cabin at the right of the
fireplace, climbed, by means of the
chinks between the logs, as quickly as
the darkness and my own safety would
allow, to a long shelf had previously
noticed considerable distance above
the floor aud but couple of feet or so
beneath the loft. And there upon my
left side, with my face turned toward
the room below. and revolver in hand,
| lay through the long hours of the
night
The morning light showed me dead
upon the floor a huge panther, while a
careful investigation of the cabin and
its Surroundings by the same light
fully cleared up the mystery of the
terrible cries and other sounds we had
heard.
Three days later the body of the un-
fortunate mountaineer was found some
two hundred yards or more from the
cabin where it had been completely
buried in n snow drift. Chicago Mai.